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Last Embryo Volume 6 Chapter 1 Part 12

「O-Of course. That is something that is well within my authority.」

You pushed on him more and more strongly, so Tokuteru had no choice but to run along with the momentum and give her the permission that she wanted.

I terms of its function as a peacekeeping organization, {The Heavenly Army} was above Floor Masters in terms of Authority and what they could do. They are the gathering of the strongest Gods of War from across all of the mythologies known to the world, and the fighting prowess and the abilities of each and every one of its members are so universally and widely known that even The Demon Lords tend to be afraid of them and would not want to cross paths with any of them if they could help it. So when Tokuteru finally yielded to You’s demands and gave her what she needed, her expression has finally changed from a tense, angered one into the one she usually wore and she told him with a smile and a cheerful gleam in her eyes:

「Understood, and thank you kindly for your cooperation. Then, by your permission as the leader of the {Heavenly Army}. . . I am going to be using all of my Authority as a Floor Master in order to conduct a full-blown investigation around The Lost Continent of Atlantis.」

「Yes, yes, of course you are. Now. . . . SAY WHAT! ! ! ! ! ! ? ? ? ? ?」

Tokuteru was so relieved that the questioning that You subjected him to was over that it took him a good while to properly process what was going on, but by the time he finally realized it and raised a stupefied voice, it was already too late.

Kasukabe You reached out into her pocket and took her Gift Card out of it, and when she raised it into the air it began to glow with the brilliant light of all the colors of the rainbow, causing Tokuteru to inadvertently squint his eyes when the sudden light show finally hit him.

Then, when the initial flare had subsided, he saw that she put the Gift Card back into the pocket of her coat and ran towards Asuka and Kuro Usagi while still carrying Izayoi over her shoulder.

「All right. All we need to do now is to go and grab our newest companion, and then the preparations to take on Miss Lalah’s Game will be as good as completed!」

「. . . Hue?」

「A newest. . . companion, you say?」

「Yes, someone whom Asuka has yet to meet yet. A girl who has become the Floor Master around the same time that I did. Before this first Gift Game started I asked her if she would be willing to help me with the investigation to see if this Game adheres to the moral and ethical rules of Little Garden without trampling them or using any loopholes to bypass them, and thanks to the rule made by Mr. Indra three years ago, I can now temporarily summon her as a Guest using my own Authority as the Floor Master.」

Initially Indra had no idea what You was talking about, but then he was hit by the sudden realization, which in turn made him sweat bullets that left the shirt on his back completely drenched.

Ever since the battle with Demon Lord Azi-Dahaka three years ago, he used his own Authority as the leader of {The Heavenly Army} to make it possible for the Floor Masters to be able to summon those with whom they have formed an official alliance as Guests in case of dire emergencies, and it was also supposed to serve as the means of strengthening the bonds between the members of the alliance even further.

It was a brand new, never before seen type of arrangement that was only made possible due to Queen Halloween, a Celestial Spirit who was in charge of controlling the boundaries between worlds as well as the 「Astral Gates」was in an unusually cooperative mood when Tokuteru came to talk with her about the idea. . .

「H-Hey, wait a minute! Now wait just a goddamn minute I said! Are you not getting a little bit too crafty here?! I know you said that you are going to do everything that you can with your Floor Master Authority, but that is straight up stretching things too far! You do realize that in the worst-case scenario you might even get disqualified from the competition for overusing your privileges for personal reasons, right?!」

「Of course I know, but do not worry, everything is going to be okay, because I got the permission from the leader of the {Heavenly Army} to, ad I quote: 「Do whatever I want」. That is also why I have to give it my very best to ensure that my investigation is going to be a fruitful one, because I absolutely cannot fail the expectations of Indra, who ever-so graciously took full responsibility for me!」

「G O H A A A A A A A A A A A A A A . . . ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !」

Tokuteru covered his face with his hands while raising a voice that sounded stranger and more hurt than ever before towards the heavens above him. He has been played for a fool like a violin and he did not even realize that until it was too late to fix anything in this mess of a situation that he got himself into ever since to departed the Giant Spirit Train so that he could talk to the three problem children.

Out of all the people in Little Garden, Tokuteru never suspected that he would be taken for a spin by Kasukabe You, one of the very few individuals whom he considered to be very straightforward people who would be pretty easy to talk to. Granted, she and him did not have many interactions in the past and because of that their relationship was not particularly deep, but judging by what he knew about her form three years ago, he would never even have suspected that she was going to grow up to be somebody who would be resulting to using cunning tricks and deception while talking with others in order to coerce them into giving her what she wanted.

Staring at You’s back, Asuka’s eyes began to shine and twinkle due to how impressed she was with the display of wittiness and diplomatic abilities that You presented just now.

「W-Wow, Miss Kasukabe. Just wow. That is all I have to say. Truly, color me impressed. Judging by how you were three years ago, I would never have expected you to take an interest in learning such diplomatic skills like deception and coercion, much less to make an active use of them during actual negotiations.」

In Asuka’s eyes, that was the proof of how much You managed to improve herself after she was appointed the de facto leader of {No Name}.

「Ehehe, thank you for such kind words. Ever since I became the leader of our Community, I thought that I should at least learn that much, and it also came in pretty handy ever since I took over as Floor Master for the East Side. Also, I did that half just for the purpose of winning an argument with Indra, and half for the purpose of my work as a Floor Master, because when I was talking about the need to investigate this Gift Game and the procedures related to it, I was speaking one hundred percent seriously. If the collateral damage is going to be done because of it, and I think we both know that it will be done, then I just want to do anything that I possibly can to minimize it as much as possible.」

And then You showed another thing that Asuka was thoroughly impressed by: a mysterious smile that seemed to be blending in perfectly with You’s odd mixture of teenage childishness and adult seriousness. This reminded Asuka about a traditional Chinease proverb she once heard: If you have not seen a young man for more than three days, the next time you meet him, look at him carefully, but it would seem that the exact same principle could be applied to Kasukabe You, a one hundred percent girl.

When they first met each other, Kasukabe You was the type of person who was pretty much indifferent to everyone around her and their problems if they were not related directly to her, but now she grew up to become someone who not only cared about innocent people whom she did not even know, but she was also trying to ensure that no harm would be coming their way simply because they just so happened to be present in the area where the current Gift Game was taking place. I guess this just proves that people are indeed going to dramatically grow and improve once they are going to start taking on responsibilities related to people other than themselves.

(Initially, I was pretty worried to be leaving {No Name} in Miss Kasukabe’s hands because I thought that this might be the weight that is just not going to be able to pull, but I guess I was getting worried over nothing.)

If that is how things are, then it might be quite possible that Asuka is going to have to be the one who should be deliberately showing off the fruits of her own training so that she would not be laughed at and ridiculed for slacking off these past few years.

「All right! If that really be the way in which things are. . . then I am definitely not going to lose! Let us be on our way, Miss Suzuka, Mister Homura! We ae going to see Miss Lalah first thing in the morning!」

「U-Uhm, if at all possible, then we would like to stay here for a while longer, because we still have some questions for Tokuteru. . . erm, I mean Indra!」

「Yeah, so feel free to grab Aya and Miss Uesugi and go together with them!」

「Oh my, is that so? Well, okay then. Miss Kasukabe and I are going to get the others and have ourselves a strategy meeting then.」

「Understood. This time, I am going to be the one who will grab the first place.」

You said to herself while burning with silent determination.

Then, Asuka began to pull everyone forward, carried by her high-spirited momentum, which prompted Kuro Usagi to look at it all with a slightly troubled face, and Tokuteru sighed deeply while holding his head with one hand.

「Good grief. Took my eyes off of them for just a moment and look how much stronger they have gotten. You would think that this is a good thing. . . but a problem child will always remain a problem child at heart.」

「Miss Kasukabe has really worked hard for the last three years, but she was not the only one. All of them have really started blooming, so maybe the day when they reach their full potential as 「The Strongest Among All Humankind」willnot be that far off?」

As long as she has to continue working as a judge for The 2nd War for the Sun’s Authority, Kuro Usagi will not be able to take an active part in the events that might shape up Little Garden’s future like she did before, but she did not feel lonely because of that.

Asuka and You have really changed from when they were first summoned to Little Garden. They challenged the trials of the Gods many times, and through overcoming them all they grew up, both as people and Gift users, and all of these experiences brought them to where they are now, so there is no need for Kuro Usagi to protect them like she once did back in the day.

(And this War is a great way for them to spread their fame even further. I bet that just by the end of the first round, their names and Gifts are going to be on the lips of many more Gods than before! YES!)

Kuro Usagi thought to herself enthusiastically. If they are going to do their best, then she also has to step us her own game and present herself as the best judge and host possible! Unless. . . . .

(Unless a little bomb called Izayoi will not go of when he remembers that Miss You beat him up.)

Usually, Kasukabe You was a silent and reserved girl, but if only she wanted and she put her back to it, she could employ a very bold means of problem solving that even someone as unpredictable as Izayoi could not even begin to imagine, so she could not stop herself from trembling at the sheer thought that Izayoi might start wrecking when he finally wakes up. In the absolute worst of the worst-case scenarios , his wrath at having been knocked out cold by You might be so great that they would have to throw the combine strength of all present members of the {No Name} just to calm him down. And if that scenario comes to pass, then there was no doubt in her mind that all hell is going to break loose, so while she prepared herself for the worst, Kuro Usagi made her way towards the village of the natives along with Suzuka, Homura, Tokuteru and everyone else.